They are likely never wrapped — who wants to wrestle with all that wrapping paper? — but big-screen televisions historically top holiday wish lists.

This year is no exception. Retailers and customers alike love deals on televisions, and TV sales make up 20% of holiday revenue, according to market-tracking firm The NPD Group.

For the first time, most of the TVs in holiday promotions will be 4K television sets. And many of them will tout the ability to handle High Dynamic Range (HDR) content.

That's made shopping trickier than the usual experience, when TV shoppers only had to think about: "How much can I spend?" and "How big a TV can I get?"

"I would say the preponderance of the deals that I have seen thus far all have to deal with 4K TVs," said Steve Koenig, senior director of market research at the Consumer Technology Association. "People are going to be hard-pressed to not come across a 4K deal that is appetizing to them."

If you are a consumer who cherishes the best video quality available, you will eventually want a 4K TV. But there are some trade-offs with making that technological leap.

A majority of what you watch on TV today isn't available in that higher quality format, though there is a growing library of 4K live sports and movies, and a 4K TV can handle all your current high-def programming, too.

New 4K TVs will cost more than an HDTV of equal size. Shoppers looking at holiday deals should understand what they get for 4K TV and HDR — and what they could miss out on if they they make the wrong choice.

Quality

4K TV, or 4K Ultra High Definition TV, was developed to make big-screens look even better than standard HDTVs. 4K TVs have four times as many pixels as HDTVs. That extra helping of pixels lets you display video on a larger display without degradation.

"You are going to see the difference in the colors, crisper lines and sharper details than on HD," said Kerrie Downey, vice president for product strategy and video product marketing at AT&T/DirecTV, which has three 4K channels on its service.

And for those looking to really increase the quality of the video they watch, 4K TVs that handle HDR have even "smarter pixels ... to show brighter brights, deeper blacks, more shadow detail and an expanded palette of color for a more realistic viewing experience," said Tim Alessi, head of home entertainment product marketing for LG Electronics USA.

HDR or not?

If your new TV is going to be the centerpiece of your home entertainment setup, you want to consider a 4K HDR TV, which usually adds a bit to the cost. A growing number of TV shows and movies are being created with HDR, so they appear brighter and more colorful on TVs able to display the higher quality video. (Netflix and Amazon Instant Video already have some HDR-produced series, for instance.)

There are multiple flavors of HDR with HDR10 and Dolby Vision as the most popular. If you plan to use this new TV purchase for video binging and movie watching, you will want to make sure your 4K TV of choice handles one or both.

During the holiday shopping season, $650 to $700 will likely land you a 55-inch 4K TV with smart TV features and HDR, says Lee Neikirk, electronics editor at Reviewed.com, an affiliate of USA TODAY. The tech site recently put through the paces two 55-inch models from TCL and Vizio that meet that criteria.

"It's worth considering that just four or five years ago, $700 would have maybe gotten you a 50-inch, non-smart 1080p (HD) TV," Neikirk said. "I paid $800 for mine in 2012. ... It's a testament to how quickly TV tech evolves."

You may find some bargain-priced 4K TVs advertised as HDR-ready. However, they may not be high-tech enough to actually produce an obvious difference. A tip: Look for TVs made by big-name makers and expect to pay $800 to $1,000 for a 65-inch 4K HDR TV during the holiday season, says James Willcox, senior editor for electronics at Consumer Reports.

Price

The first 4K Ultra High-Definition TVs to hit the U.S. in 2012 carried a $20,000 price tag. And four years ago, the price of entry was about $7,000.

While good quality 55-inch to 65-inch 4K HDR TVs are likely to cost $650 or more during holiday sales, standard 4K TVs can be found far below those prices. The best deal spotted so far: a Sharp 50-inch 4K TV with built-in Roku streaming features selling for $180 in Best Buy stores.

If you are using this new purchase for a bedroom or secondary TV watching spot at home, you don't really need to worry about HDR for now. But even if you are buying a TV smaller than 50 inches, you want to consider a 4K TV because there's a larger selection.

In addition to major brands, look for Roku TVs, which are made by TCL, Hisense and other makers in addition to Sharp. "They don’t have top-notch picture quality but they have very good picture quality and the Roku is a really good streaming platform," Willcox said. "They deliver a lot for the money."

Big-ticket 4K TVs — we're talking from $1,500 to $15,000 for displays up to 77 inches — will be available at a discount, too, with LG, Samsung and Sony among makers marking down many models. With the spread of HDTV and now 4K TV, the average size of a TV sold has grown to 45 inches, CTA says, and will likely continue to expand.

If you are in the market for a high-end big-screen, check to see if the price is right. If not, check again as the NFL playoff season gets underway and the Super Bowl nears, as that is another prime TV shopping season.

What you need

In addition to your 4K TV, you also need a fairly robust broadband connection. Movie rental and download service Vudu, which has 4K movies, including some in HDR, recommends broadband speeds of at least 11 Megabits per second. Amazon and Netflix, both of which have some 4K and 4K HDR content, recommend 15 Mbps. So if you have multiple people in your home using multiple devices online, you may need to pay more for more robust connectivity.

Content

A few years ago, buyers of 4K TV were disappointed by a slim selection of TV channels and streaming content in 4K. That's changed. In its full fourth year, 4K has begun to amass a sizable content library.

For a start, there's Blu-ray Discs, which are the size of a DVD, but can play 4K movies. 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc players have been available for almost two years and Microsoft's Xbox One S, released last year, and the newly-released Xbox One X will play them, too. There's 200-plus 4K UHD Blu-ray Discs to play on them.

Video game lovers have likely been eyeing 4K TVs for a while because Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro and the Xbox One S stream 4K content from services such as Netflix and Amazon. Sony's PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X will play 4K video games, too.

Other devices such as Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and NVIDIA Shield will also stream 4K video and HDR.

Live in 4K

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Satellite TV services DirecTV and Dish Network also provide 4K programming. DirecTV and Dish Network both broadcast NBC's Rio Olympics in 4K in August 2016 and also currently broadcast college football games in 4K from Fox Sports, with more sports planned. Each also have documentaries and pay-per-view movies (4K equipment upgrades are usually needed from both providers).

Early next year, DirecTV plans to offer live 4K HDR broadcasts out of the home, too. Dish Network subscribers can stream Netflix 4K content through their equipment. That's a feature that Comcast Xfinity customers also can take advantage of.

But in the end, whether you opt for 4K this holiday season likely depends on your entertainment habits -- and your budget. "People who like video games can safely grab a 4K/HDR TV knowing that the gaming industry is pushing in that direction as quickly as possible," Reviewed.com's Neikirk said.

For everybody else, if you were going to buy a new TV anyway, you should try to opt for a 4K HDR display. But it's not a necessity if you are not in the market just yet, he says. "If you mostly stream or watch cable, it probably isn't worth it."